Carmelo Anthony closer to securing a starting spot in All-Star Game.

Carmelo Anthony got a boost in his bid to be an All-Star starter for the eighth consecutive time, jumping ahead of Andre Drummond in the latest voting update released Thursday.

The top-3 Eastern Conference frontcourt players are given a starting spot for the Valentine's Day game in Toronto, and Anthony had trailed LeBron James, Paul George and Drummond in the first two voting returns.

Anthony's scoring numbers are down this season as he embraces more of a facilitator role, averaging fewer shot attempts than any season after his sophomore campaign in 2004-05, and the most assists since 2006-07. The Knicks (20-21) showed how important he is to their success in Wednesday's loss to the lowly Nets, when Anthony sat out with a sprained ankle and Kristaps Porzingis couldn't shoulder the necessary load.

Anthony told the Daily News he hopes to return for Saturday’s game in Memphis, but he also acknowledged the pain hadn’t subsided.

“It is more difficult (without Anthony). He kind of creates a lot of situations for us. He gets the ball, he’s getting the defense to be tighter and we can get wide open shots,” said Porzingis, who missed 12 of his 17 shot attempts Wednesday as the Knicks (20-21) fell to 0-3 in games that Anthony has missed. “And this time you can see from the beginning Thaddeus Young was really into my jersey and didn’t want me to even receive the ball. I could tell the difference between when Melo is on the court and when I am by myself with Arron (Afflalo) or Derrick, but yeah, I got to be ready for that as well. Guys are going to try and do that now. Just be ready for it and be ready to step up and be aggressive.”

Anthony, 31, is averaging 21.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists on 44 percent shooting. Earlier this month, Anthony and his powerful player clique with James, Wade and Paul all voted for each other on Twitter, which reached their millions of followers and might’ve pushed the Knicks forward over the hump.